Since it is limited edition, the price we give you - will be a little
higher than common watches.
The Export price in the states was US$ 1000.00 ( January 3rd 2014 1pm )
(last bid price below for this collector item - send an e-mail (HERE)
for your bid today).

NEWS: the FIYTA Spacewatch # 597/699 watch (new
- but without box - I have it!)

Please report right away to John Kraus 310-320-2226
when someone offer you this watch!
or just e-mail anonymous to JOHN@1-2-3.ca
(subject: fiyta watch reward)

This watch was stolen at a burglary
at Long Beach, CA, July 2013 - an is reported to the police.

Related

From left,
the Chinese astronauts Jing
Haipeng, Liu Boming and Zhai
Zhigang during a ceremony before
the launch of the Shenzhou 7
spacecraft at the Jiuquan
Satellite Launch Center in
northwest China's Gansu province
on Thursday.

The
three-day mission is expected to include the
country’s first attempt at a spacewalk.

The
Chinese government has spent billions of
dollars in recent years building up a space
program that it hopes will help China
establish a space station by 2020 and
eventually will put a man on the
moon, accomplishments that would
certainly bring the country international
prestige.

The
launching of Shenzhou VII from Jiuquan
Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province,
which is in western China, was shown live on
state television.

At a
ceremony before the launching, President
Hu Jintao praised the space project’s
effort. “You will definitely accomplish this
glorious and sacred mission,” he told the
astronauts before the launching. “The
motherland and the people are looking
forward to your triumphant return.”

China
sent into space three experienced fighter
pilots, all of them 42-year-old men. One is
expected to walk in space for 30 minutes on
Friday or Saturday, according to the state
media.

The three
Taikonauts — the Chinese term for astronauts
— plan to run tests in space and launch a
small satellite monitoring station. They are
carrying traditional Chinese medicine on
board, in case of sickness, and their diet
includes shredded pork sautéed with garlic
and grilled beef with spicy sauce.

One
astronaut is wearing what the state-run news
media has dubbed “the most complicated,
advanced and expensive suit in the world,” a
$4.4 million space suit designed and
produced in China. The spacecraft was
launched by what the Chinese space agency
calls the Long March II-F carrier rocket,
which took the spacecraft into a low orbit,
about 210 miles above Earth. The mission,
which is being covered extensively in the
Chinese media, is another milestone for a
country that got a late start in space
exploration but is now aggressively
launching commercial satellites, putting
humans in space and even shooting down aging
satellites.

“They
have joined a very exclusive club; only the
U.S. and Russians are members,” said Roger
D. Launius, a senior curator and expert on
space history at the
National Air and Space Museum in
Washington, referring generally to China’s
space program. “It’s a great start, even
though it’s nowhere near what the Russians
and the U.S. have accomplished with space
flight.”

Russia
and the United States conducted their first
spacewalks in 1965, and in 1969 the United
States became the first country to put a
person on the moon.

But
Michael D. Griffin, the administrator of
NASA, has repeatedly warned that despite
the head start by other nations, the Chinese
program is moving swiftly and could overtake
American efforts to return to the moon by
2020. In testimony to the Senate last year,
Mr. Griffin said it was likely that “China
will be able to put people on the Moon
before we will be able to get back.” He
added: “I admire what they have done, but I
am concerned that it will leave the United
States in its wake.”

The
Chinese government also hopes the national
space program will aid the nation
economically by helping to create
technological breakthroughs that may someday
be applied to computers or other digital
equipment.

India and
Japan are now aggressively developing their
own space programs, creating some
competition in Asia for space flight, and
the Europeans have joined forces to explore
space.

But China
says its space program is speeding along,
often with Chinese technology, helping
establish the country as a technological
power and bringing another dose of pride to
the nation after the Olympic Games in
Beijing this summer.

Because
spaceflight requires large booster rockets
and other sophisticated technology that
often has military applications, national
space programs are often veiled in secrecy,
and cooperation among nations is
complicated.

Indeed,
on Wednesday, the
F.B.I. arrested a Chinese-born physicist
in Newport News, Va., on charges of
illegally exporting space launching
technical data and services to China
beginning in January 2003. The physicist,
Shu Quan-Sheng, 68, was born in China but
was a naturalized American citizen. He has a
doctorate in physics.

Mr. Shu
was also accused of offering bribes to
Chinese government officials in exchange for
a business contract, according to an F.B.I.
statement.

John
Schwartz contributed reporting from New
York.

=============================================================

BBC
London report:

Chinese astronaut walks in space

China astronaut's
space walk

A Chinese astronaut
has become the first in his country's history to take a walk
in space.

In an operation broadcast live on
national TV, fighter pilot Zhai Zhigang emerged from the
capsule orbiting the Earth to wave a Chinese flag.

Mr Zhai, 42, stayed outside the
capsule for 15 minutes while his two fellow astronauts
stayed in the spacecraft.

The exercise is seen as key to China's
ambition to build an orbiting station in the next few years.

Mr Zhai began the manoeuvre just after
1630 Beijing Time (0830 GMT) on Saturday, and completed it
about 15 minutes later.

"I'm feeling quite well. I greet the
Chinese people and the people of the world," he said as he
climbed out of the Shenzhou VII capsule.

For China this mission is as much about
national pride as anything else

"The risks are quite high. Sending up
three astronauts is a jump both in quantity and quality."

The ship is to release a 40kg (90lb)
satellite which will circle the orbiter and beam back images
to mission control.

At the end of the mission, the
Shenzhou re-entry capsule will target a landing in north
China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

China became only the third nation
after the United States and Russia to independently put a
man in space when Yang Liwei, another fighter pilot, went
into orbit on the Shenzhou V mission in October 2003.

Two years later, Fei Junlong and Nie
Haisheng completed a five-day flight on Shenzhou VI.

According to the Associated Press news
agency, Xinhua posted an article on its website prior to the
lift-off that was written as if Shenzhou VII had already
been launched into space.

China's Shenzhen
VII rocket blasts off

The article reportedly carried a date
of 27 September and came complete with a dialogue between
the astronauts.

Chinese media report that this latest
mission is the "most critical step" in the country's
"three-step" space program.

These stages are: sending a human into
orbit, docking spacecraft together to form a small
laboratory and, ultimately, building a large space station.

The Shenzhou VIII and IX missions are
expected to help set up a space laboratory complex in 2010.

China launched an unmanned Moon probe
last year about one month after rival Japan blasted its own
lunar orbiter into space.

SHENZHOU VII SPACECRAFT

1. Forward orbital
module - crew live and work in this
section, which contains scientific
equipment. In future missions, this module
may remain in orbit as part of a Chinese
space station

Zhai Zhigang today
become the first Chinese person to walk in
space, marking the highlight of his
country's third manned mission.

As he floated out of
the orbiter module's hatch, Zhia declared:
"Greetings to all the people of the nation
and all the people of the world."

In live satellite
television pictures broadcast in China and
around the world, Zhai - the 41-year-old son
of a snack seller chosen for the first
"extra-vehicular activity" – waved a small
Chinese flag, helped by colleague Liu Boming
who also briefly popped his head out of the
capsule.

Zhai returned inside
the craft safely after about 15 minutes.

He wore a $4.4m
Chinese-made suit weighing 120kg (265lb).
Liu wore a Russian-made suit and acted as a
back-up.

The maneuver is a
step towards China's long-term goal of
assembling a space laboratory and station.

The Shenzhou VII craft
blasted off from a remote site in the Gobi
desert in the north-west of the country on
Thursday and is due to land tomorrow in
Inner Mongolia.

China's Communist
party leaders are reveling in the positive
publicity the space mission has received,
particularly after Beijing's successful
Olympics.

"On this flight,
Chinese people's footprints will be left in
space for the first time," said a commentary
by the official Xinhua news agency. "This
will give the world yet something else to
marvel about China in this extraordinary
year of 2008."

Xinhua said the
astronauts embarked on their walk after
receiving a clean bill of health from
doctors on the ground at mission control.

Zhai's suit has 10
layers and takes up to 15 hours to assemble
and put on.

China's first manned
spaceflight was in 2003. A second,
two-manned flight followed in 2005. The only
other countries that have launched people
into space are Russia and the United States.

======================================================

The Sun wrote:

China Marks Olympics, Spacewalk for
National Day

By ANITA
CHANG, Associated Press
| September 30, 2008

BEIJING —
China kicked off its National
Day celebrations yesterday by
highlighting its hosting of the
Beijing Olympics and the country's
first spacewalk, two hard-won
successes in a tumultuous year
marked by natural disasters, ethnic
unrest, and another food safety
scandal.

The spacewalk on Saturday boosted
a wave of Chinese pride and
patriotism stemming from the
Olympics, which is still a big news
story in the domestic press one
month after it ended. China's
Olympic heroes were honored in a
three-hour ceremony at the Great
Hall of the People that was
broadcast live on national
television.

State broadcaster CCTV showed the
three returning astronauts, with
flower garlands around their necks,
waving and smiling as they were
treated to a homecoming parade in
Beijing. Their mission, including
China's first spacewalk, put the
country closer to building a space
station and landing a man on the
moon.

Meanwhile, Vice President Xi, who
oversaw preparations for the Beijing
Summer Games, praised what he said
was China's realization of a
100-year dream to host the event and
said it would keep China on its
reform path.

"The successful holding of the
Beijing Olympics and Paralympics has
carried forward the Olympic spirit,
improved the understanding and
friendship between Chinese people
and all people of the world," Mr. Xi
said. "It has ... shown the world
the great achievements of reform and
opening and the building of
socialist modernization."

But Premier Wen Jiabao touched
briefly on some of the country's
troubles so far this year during an
address at a dinner banquet that
included many foreign dignitaries.

"We prevailed over the disasters
caused by the heavy snow and sleet
storms and the devastating Wenchuan
earthquake," he said, referring to a
freak storm just before February's
Lunar New Year that left scores dead
and hundreds of thousands stranded
during the country's busiest travel
period.

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake in May
left nearly 90,000 people dead or
missing.

"We still face many difficulties
and problems in our endeavor to
advance socialist modernization but
we have full confidence to overcome
them," he said.

The 59th anniversary of the
founding of the People's Republic of
China is tomorrow. This year also
marks 30 years since China started
the economic reforms that turned the
country into the world's factory
floor and transformed all of its
major cities.

Economic development has been
slower to reach far-flung regions
like Tibet, where simmering ethnic
tensions boiled over in March.
Anti-government riots erupted in the
capital of Lhasa, sparking sympathy
protests in Tibetan areas across
western China.

=======================================================

Chinese spacewalk
mission enters orbit

CNN reports:

BEIJING, China (AP)
-- China's three-man
spacecraft shifted from
an oval orbit to a more
stable circular orbit
342 kilometers (213
miles) above Earth on
Friday in preparation
for the country's first
attempt at a spacewalk.

Chinese astronaut Jing Haipeng talks to the command and control center in Shenzhou-7 on Friday.

The
spacewalk is scheduled
to take place at about
Saturday afternoon,
although the exact
timing depends on the
readiness of equipment
and personnel, said Wang
Zhaoyao, deputy director
of China's manned space
program office. The
event will be broadcast
live on television, he
said.

"This is China's first
attempt (at a spacewalk)
so there are a lot of
uncertainties," Wang
said.

The
Shenzhou 7 mission,
China's third manned
space voyage, blasted
into space atop a Long
March 2F rocket on
Thursday.

The
launch was broadcast
live on state television
in a display of
China's growing
confidence in its space
program. Shortly before
the feed ended, one of
the crew reported that
they were all well and
had extended the craft's
solar panels.

The
Communist Party's
flagship newspaper
People's Daily showed
President Hu Jintao
waving to the astronauts
before the launch and
congratulating staff at
mission control after
liftoff.

Such
coverage underscores the
weighty role of politics
and patriotism in the
space program,
officially presented as
an illustration of
China's rising
technological might and
global influence.

The
official Xinhua News
Agency said the
astronauts executed a
64-second engine burn to
shift the spaceship from
an oval-shaped orbit
into a round one,
meaning it was circling
Earth at a constant
distance.

The
change in orbit ensures
Earth's gravitational
pull will not vary
during the spacewalk
attempt, and will allow
for smooth operation of
the ship's instruments,
the agency said.

A
round orbit will also
help Shenzhou make a
precise landing on the
Inner Mongolian Steppe
on Sunday after its
re-entry vehicle bursts
through Earth's
atmosphere, Xinhua said.

The
mission is devoted
almost entirely to the
execution of the
spacewalk, a key step in
mastering techniques for
docking two orbiters to
create China's first
orbiting space station.

The
two astronauts who will
don space suits for the
spacewalk will be
supported by Russian
experts throughout the
mission. Only one will
actually leave the
orbiter module to
retrieve scientific
experiments placed
outside, described by
Xinhua as solid
lubricant samples. They
will then release an
88-pound satellite which
will circle the orbiter
and send back images.

Shenzhou 7 commander
Zhai Zhigang is touted
as most likely to carry
out the spacewalk. All
three astronauts are
42-year-old fighter
pilots with more than
1,000 hours of flying
time.

China's last manned
mission, Shenzhou 6,
came in 2005, two years
after the country first
put a person into orbit.

The
chief designer of the
Shenzhou spacecraft said
Friday that China's
space program would
speed up production of
the next generation of
Shenzhou craft,
indicating that the
country's 16-year-old
manned spaceflight
program was gathering
pace.

Zhang Bainan offered no
numbers, but said the
spacecraft would be used
to transport astronauts
and cargo to a future
Chinese space station.
Zhang said other
countries might be
offered space on the
craft.

Ramped-up production of
the three-module
Shenzhou, based loosely
on Russia's Soyuz
capsule, also points to
a need for more
astronauts beyond the
14-member corps now
trained.

To
meet the demand, a new
round of astronaut
selection will be held
using revised standards
following completion of
this year's mission,
Chen Shanguang, director
of the China Astronaut
Research and Training
Center, was quoted as
saying by the Communist
Party's China Youth
Daily newspaper.

Officials are drafting
specific criteria for
female astronauts,
although no schedule for
recruitment has been
set, China's first
astronaut, Yang Liwei,
now Chen's deputy, was
quoted as saying.

"Many standards have
already been set and
there has been strong
support from society as
a whole," Yang said.

Copyright 2008 The
Associated Press.
All rights reserved.
This material may not be
published, broadcast,
rewritten, or
redistributed.

1.What is the difference between the Spacemaster and normal watches? What
are the specific technical requirements?

One of the key missions for the
Shenzhou VII crew was to attempt China’s first space walk outside the space
capsule. FIYTA was commissioned to make the time keeping equipment to accompany
this historic space walk. For the astronaut to successfully complete this
critical mission, the watch had to keep time reliably under extreme
circumstances in outer space.

The watch engineers at FIYTA took
more than three years to develop a watch that could function reliably in outer
space. In a field where there is little existing information, FIYTA’s watch
makers have to overcome many technical obstacles before coming up with the
Spacemaster. The key differences between the Spacemaster and normal watches are
as follows:

a)Significance

Unlike normal watches, space
watches, in this case, the Spacemaster, play a critical role in ensuring the
safety of the astronaut as he carries out his mission in outer space. In an
unknown environment, the astronaut can only rely on his watch to give him
important information.

b)Operating Environment

Outside of the controlled
environment of the space capsule, the outer space environment is unpredictable
and extreme. Our engineers have to take into account all factors that could
impact on the smooth operation of the timepiece: the shock vibration, gravity,
temperature, light glare, luminosity, magnetism, etc.

The Spacemaster can withstand a
temperature range of -80 degree Celsius to +80 degree Celsius (a first in the
world). This is the result of a specially formulated lubricant in the movement
(invented by FIYTA) which allows the watch to continue working despite vast
temperature changes.

The Spacemaster can also
withstand 10 times the normal magnetic field than that of normal watches with a
48,000A/M capability. Magnetic fields are often the cause of unreliable
time-keeping for mechanical watches.

The special case construction of
the Spacemaster also allows the watch to endure high levels of shock and
vibration, while protecting the movement within, and preventing breakage of the
sapphire glass, through atmospheric changes during blast off and re-entry to
earth.

To ensure easy readability of the watch dial, FIYTA has come up with a
simple watch design with clear markers and indicators, high luminosity and
anti glare sapphire glass.

To ensure that the astronauts can maneuver and use the watch even while
wearing their bulky space suit, the watch has been designed with a large
54mm case (note: the watch has been downsized to a wearable 45mm case for
the 699 limited edition), with big pushers and crown. To prevent any
accidental unlocking of the crown which will compromise the watch in outer
space, the unlocking mechanism is clockwise instead of anti-clockwise like
most watches.

a)Functions

Within the heart of the Spacemaster beats FIYTA’s own in-house manual
winding chronograph movement, designed specifically for the space mission.
It has a 45 hour power reserve. Based on the Shenzhou VII space mission
requirements, the Spacemaster has a unique 45 minute cum 12 hour chronograph
counters. On the 45 minute counter, luminescent blue and green markers at
the 30 and 45 minute bars signal to the astronaut the end of specific
mission activities.

To ensure that the astronauts can synchronize to Earth’s time in outer
space, where they experience multiple sunrises and sunsets within a 24-hour
cycle, an AM/PM function has also been added into the movement.

1.What is the background of FIYTA’s
long term collaboration with the China space program?

In 2000, the Astronaut Center of China (ACC) began looking in secret for
manufacturers who could supply space related equipment, including
time-keeping equipment, for the upcoming manned space missions. Without the
knowledge of local watch manufacturers, ACC had selected a number of their
watches to undergo specific tests, and only FIYTA’s military watches passed
with flying colors. In the beginning of 2001, FIYTA was approached and then
appointed by ACC to be the official watch supplier for the Chinese manned
space missions. Thus began FIYTA’s journey into space watch manufacture.

In March 2003, FIYTA’s first space watch passed the various tests and
requirements set by the ACC. On 16 October 2003, Shenzhou V, together with
China’s first astronaut Yang Liwei wearing his specially made FIYTA
timepiece, blasted off to space and made history. In October 2005, the next
generation FIYTA space watch accompanied astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie
Haisheng on the successful Shenzhou VI mission.

Since 2005, the team at FIYTA started working on the prototype watch for the
Shenzhou VII space walk mission, which would eventually become the
Spacemaster

that was worn by Zhai Zhigang during his historic space walk on 27 September
2008, beamed live to millions of people worldwide.

1.How
does FIYTA’s space watches compare to other space watches on the
international stage? What are the technological breakthroughs achieved by
the Spacemaster?

The standards achieved by FIYTA’s space watches met or outperform existing
space watches by other international watch manufacturers. For example, the
Spacemaster set records in extreme temperature tolerance (working under
conditions from -80 degree Celsius to +80 degree Celsius), through the use
of a specially developed lubricant for the mechanism. Its anti-magnetic
capabilities at 48,000 A/M, is 10 times that of international watch
standards. The FIYTA movement, which was tailored specifically for the
Shenzhou VII mission, has a variety of features and functions not seen in
other space watches.

Being the first Chinese space watch to be worn outside the space craft,
FIYTA watch makers took more than 3 years to come up with its first
mechanical winding chronograph movement, which included special features
required by the Astronaut Center of China. While there are a number of space
watches in the market, space watches which have actually been worn outside
the capsule remain few. To ensure that the Spacemaster could cope and
function well in the harsh outer space environs, it had to survive a series
of stress tests on the watch (shock, vibration, thermal vacuum,
acceleration, etc.) set by the China National Homological Quality
Supervision and Testing Center. The Spacemaster passed with flying colors.
The Spacemaster is definitely a significant milestone in FIYTA’s impressive
R&D record.

2.How heavy is the Spacemaster
compared to a normal wrist watch?

Because the Spacemaster has so many functions and requirements, it is twice
as heavy as a normal wristwatch. To lighten the burden for the astronaut,
FIYTA specially used a titanium case for the watch, which is not only light
but resilient.

3.Has FIYTA made space watches for
either the American or Russian astronauts?

Yang Liwei has actually presented the FIYTA Shenzhou 5 watch as a gift to a
fellow Russian cosmonaut, who commented that China was the only country that
used their own locally developed and made watches for use in their space
missions.